Make a Wallet From Used Skimmed Milk Cartons.

(this instructable would like to be entered into the wallet competition and laser cutter one)

If you use/buy skimmed milk in the TectraPak (sp?) cartons you end up throwing away at least 1 empty carton a day -which is a terrible waste and surely must make a huge impact on the enviroment! So here is one way of recycling at least 60% of that waste into something awesome, creative, and unique!

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Step 1: Cut the Carton Up..

First you will need to cut off the top. try cutting as little as possible to save having to do it all over again because you cut off too much. So cut off the very top of the carton and then rinse it out with water and then dry it (or wait for it to dry) I reccomend using as sharp a knife as you can, the sharper the knife *hopefully* the neater you cuts will be and presumably your wallet. After you have cut off the top and rinsed it out do the same to the bottom of the carton, cutting as little off as you can.

Step 2: Flatten (pancake Like)

So now you should have a rectangle with no ends to it. You will now need to cut along the seam (this is where I would cut it) then after cutting it all the way down straighten it out flat.

Step 3: Measuring the Dimensions-

You will now need to decide how high your wallet will need to be, I cut mine to fit a Ãï¿½ÃÂ£20 note so the back of mine was 8.5cm. high with the front of the wallet being 8cm. high for allowing easy access to the notes while stiff covering and protecting them. After you have figured out how high your wallet will need to be you then need to score the milk carton lightly until it is easy to fold. You must not go all the way through so as to cut it, otherwise go back to step one!

Step 4: Score Line for Folding.

next you will need to score a light line vertically so that the wallet can be easily folded in half. In the pictures I have scored it in the middle so allowing lots of room on each side where the ends will be taped up. Basically when you have scored this line it will allow the wallet to be folded into quarters from when we started off when it was flat.

Step 5: Cut Off Each Ends to Seal It Up

Now after the wallet can be easily folded in half the next step is to trim the wallet to size and then tape it up to become functional.

I left ample room on the length so that two notes could probably fit lengthwise, however as this extra room is not needed it will be cut off and then the ends will be taped up.

The end result is a very stylish silvery wallet which is also pretty thin, good for just being able to slip it into a pocket!

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Discussions

scoring protip: use the blunt edge of the blade and press down hard. you don't need to actually cut the box, just indent it (this is true in most cases, i've never worked with this material before, so i could be way off)

one thing to keep in mind though, is that you will want to "blunt score" the OPPOSITE side that you would "cut score" in order for it to fold like you want